A Transgenic System for Rapid Magnetic Enrichment of Rare Embryonic Cells

Collecting large numbers of rare cells for high-throughput molecular analysis remains a technical challenge, primarily due to limitations in existing technologies. In developmental biology this has impeded single-cell analysis of primordial organs, which derive from few cells. In this study, we share novel transgenic lines for rapid cell enrichment from zebrafish embryos using human surface antigens for immunological binding and magnetic sorting. As proof of principle, we tagged, enriched, and performed single-cell RNA sequencing on nascent hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and endothelial cells from early embryos. Our method is a quick, efficient, and cost-effective approach to a previously intractable problem.